Still, most readers probably have a personal or family stake in the future of Medicaid, nursing home regulations, children's health insurance or the many other challenges confronting the General Assembly.

The Newport News Republican was recently named chairman of the Joint Commission on Health Care. It's what the crime commission is to public safety: a legislative group that examines health policy when the General Assembly isn't in session, which should be, oh, any month now.

Hamilton now heads the Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee, which considers major health legislation.

He also heads the House Appropriations subcommittee on health and human resources, which takes a close look at health spending.

And he's a budget negotiator assigned to hammer out compromises on health expenditures in the actual budget.

What does all that mean? More than any other House legislator, Hamilton is involved in all aspects of health policy.

Which is odd, considering that he never planned to pursue health care issues when his political career began. It just sort of happened that way.

When Hamilton entered the House in 1989, one of his committee assignments was Health, Welfare and Institutions. Hamilton became chairman by outlasting everyone else, learning more than a few details along the way.

That knowledge is key because there's a dirty secret about the politics of health care: Not every politician understands it.

"Health care issues are so complex that if you don't pay attention to it on an ongoing basis ... I think there are some members who don't understand the difference between Medicare and Medicaid," he said.

(Cheat sheet: Medicare is the federal program, which doesn't concern the General Assembly. Medicaid is the federal-state program, which concerns the legislature greatly.)

As more baby boomers near retirement and costs for prescription drugs continue to rise, Medicaid is becoming more expensive for taxpayers. Controlling those costs has been -- and will be -- a big issue for legislators in the years to come. Expect Hamilton to be in the middle of it.

HEEEEE'S BAAAACK ...

State Politics welcomes a familiar face back to the fight, at least for the next few months.

Tim Murtaugh has been hired to manage the campaign of U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake of Norfolk.

Murtaugh was last seen as spokesman for Republican Jerry Kilgore, who failed in his bid for governor last year.

That's not necessarily a sign of things to come.

Murtaugh was also the press guy for George Allen when he unseated former U.S. Sen. Chuck Robb in 2000.

He's a player in what will be a closely watched election in the state and the nation.

Drake is going up against Democrat Phil Kellam of Virginia Beach. Murtaugh dived right in on his first day on the job, attending a campaign kickoff event for Kellam and issuing some pronouncements to newspaper reporters.

The Virginia Senate has held town-hall-style meetings to talk about its transportation plans, including a meeting last week in Virginia Beach.

The Senate's plans -- yes, plural -- call for a mix of tax and fee increases statewide, as well as regional approaches in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia, which pave the way for more tax increases.

The Senate spin: Roads, bridge-tunnels, trains and buses can't be bought with dimes. The needs are expensive, and if breaking gridlock in Hampton Roads and elsewhere is worth it, then we all have to pony up and create an annual source of cash.

Anti-tax House Republicans are unimpressed -- both with the Senate's plans and its recent PR swing. The House proposes a more modest plan that relies on debt, excess cash and driver's fines.